With both the Loknar and the Andor, I had a few requirements that I set for myself when designing the stats. For the Andor, it absolutely had to stay at Class IX tonnage with a total firepower roughly on par with my other light cruiser, the Sentinel class, and noticeably higher than my Wasp destroyer. Additionally, I wanted this dedicated combat vessel's total combat efficiency to be about that of the latest Reliant heavy dual role cruiser. Fortunately, all those goals were met after upgrading several systems, most noticeably the torpedoes. Fluffwise, this was just a typical upgrade to the mark after having served 5+ years in Starfleet with full production switching over to the new variant at the same numbers.
For the 30+ year old Loknar class, it needed to be a sizable upgrade from the last official variant (the Mk V) but still be below the combat efficiency of the most modern frigates in Starfleet, namely the latest Northhampton and Chandley variants. I also wanted it to use the relatively underused FWG-2 engines and still maintain a mix of old and new technology. Ideally, it would hopefully stay at Class X but that was unlikely given the 16,000mt increase in engine mass. Unfortunately, there was no way to sizeably increase the firepower without also invariably going up to class XI so I prioritized the former. Astute readers will also notice that I gave the Loknar a platoon of Starfleet marines similar to the company or more other frigates get; I justified this by reasoning that the upgraded tech replaced bulky older variants leading to some extra room that, along with a decrease in cargo space, allowed a platoon of marines to be stationed permanently onboard the ship. This allowed the newest Loknar variant to fulfill the same boarding party role that frigates designed after it were able to do. Fluffwise, I see this new variant taking over with space docks initially exclusively converting older Loknar variants to at a faster rate instead of producing new ships.
As always, let me know if there are any errors in the sheets and I hope you all enjoy them as well as eventually use them on the tabletop!
So, having recently seen the third reboot ST, what's your stance on the the new verse?
ReplyDeleteI think they're ok to good movies in general but not particularly good *Star Trek* movies. Their lip service feels very superficial or alternately paradoxically too plot derivative at times. For instance, I like what they did with the uniforms... but then they put them on an Apple IStore bridge with none of the colors or visual queues of the original series. A simple color palette swap with the exact same props would have accomplished that replacing the stark whites and occasional blue accents with some base light grey and primary color (red, yellow, green, blue) highlights. I'm not asking for a return of tic tac toe blinking light computers and 60's desk lamp consoles but just nods to the original.
ReplyDeleteAs for the plots, they are exactly what you'd expect when you get a director who specifically said he was never a star trek guy but instead preferred star wars (and dropped Star Trek like a hot rock when offered the latter!)... they're popcorn space cowboy action shoot'em ups. I love both Star Trek and Star Wars but I love them for different reasons and one shouldn't abandon it's core just for the box office profits of the other. When they do incorporate nods to the original, they feel too derivative like with the introduction of Khan in the second movie or destroying/rebuilding the Enterprise in the third.
I've seen them all in the theatres and I don't actively dislike any of them (as a part or a whole) but they just don't engender the devotion that older, more cerebral trek did for me. I watch the movies and that's it. I don't buy the dvds or novels, make models, play games in them, buy tie in merchandise, etc. It doesn't feel like the fanbase overall does either as well(and this is DURING the active movie releases let alone 30-50 years later with decades of inactivity like with original trek). The original reboot got a big box office from curious casual one timers but IIRC each successive movie has made less (at least in the US). The casual fans they're chasing after don't stick around and the core fanbase isn't converting either. That's the downside to prioritizing short term box office gains over the long term negative effects IMO.
I forgot to add that in all fairness that the casting and acting was stellar for the reboot. Great job there. Also, if you want to see a pure fan service reboot, check out Prelude to Axanar on youtube. I love it (despite the massive behind the scenes issues with the production) but I don't think it would draw in too many new fans though. Something in between the reboots and Axanar would have been ideal for the franchise IMO.
ReplyDelete